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My soon-to-be-neighbor Lucy asked how I come up with recipes. I told her I wish I could attribute it to my brilliantly creative mind. But alas, my mind is neither brilliant or creative when it comes to recipes. And let’s be honest, I’m kind of a Plain Jane when it comes to food. One really good (and simple) recipe far outweighs 10 interesting recipes in my book. Boring, Plain Jane, classic. Call me what you’d like.

Though, I’d like to think boring has a warped meaning now with Pinterest and recipe titles with 10+ words. I drool over and pin those eccentric recipes too. But when I cook, I cook with simple, familiar flavors, many of which I grew up with. I wish I could tell you I make 31 unique dinners a month, but my guess is it’s closer to 10, and that number might be inflated if I actually kept record. And I call myself a food blogger. I also call myself faux, which covers all sins.

But just like my pointy-toed flats, strand of fake pearls, and white cotton t-shirt, the classics will always have a place at the table. The cronut and the cupcake craze will come and go while the classics, by definition, will endure. They’re timeless, as are these killer-not-boring pumpkin scones, inspired by one I picked up at the farmer’s market the other week. I’d make scones once a week if my hips could lie.

Which gets back to Lucy’s question—how do you come up with recipes? The inspiration—it comes from all around, but most commonly from the brilliantly creative minds of restaurant and bakery owners. The kind that prepare the foods that make you say, I wish I would have thought of that. I take the idea home and stuff it into a wholesome recipe with familiar flavors and methods. Fingers crossed, the kind of recipes that make you say, I made that! Even to the boring ole classics.

These scones are sweetened just enough to highlight the earthiness of the pumpkin. Because it's impossible to squeeze in enough pumpkin this time of year, it's tucked into the glaze too. Lightly chopped pepita seeds serve as a natural sprinkle and crunch to the scone.

In a measuring cup, whisk together pumpkin, cream, and eggs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.

Using a pastry knife or your fingers, cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

Make a well in the center and pour in pumpkin mixture. Using a pastry fork and/or your hands, combine until dough just comes together. Overworking yields a tough scone.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Place dough on the baking sheet and form into a 6" square (or so). Cut in thirds, then into thirds again, leaving you with 9 squares. (Lightly sprinkle hands with flour while pressing out to keep dough from sticking.)

Using a pastry bench, loosen from the bottom and evenly place on the baking sheet.

Place in freezer. Meanwhile preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Once preheated, remove scones from freezer and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pumpkin glaze. Into a flat bottomed bowl, whisk together cream, pumpkin, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined. Add in powdered sugar and whisk until no lumps remain. Once scones have cooled, dip or spoon glaze on to scone. Sprinkle with pepita seeds.

Best served same day. Store lightly covered, if at all.

Notes

* Recipe was tested with fresh pumpkin. Canned pumpkin may yield a different texture. In general fresh pumpkin is a bit more watery. Omit extra tablespoon of flour if using canned.

You really can’t go wrong with “classic.” And it’s true – those are the things we make most often, turning to them again and again. It’s one of the reasons I love your blog – your recipes are approachable and comforting, in their “classic” way. And that’s a compliment; your recipes are far from boring. 🙂

Simple and classic by no means equate to boring! You said it perfectly. I know I don’t make eccentric recipes all the time. Most of the time they’re simple and familiar. And these scones sound totally do-able!

I’m right there with you about the simple ingredients. It’s fun to try out complicated recipes, but I hardly ever have enough organizational skills to buy the ingredients. 😛 Your scones look beautiful. I like the idea of the pumpkin in the glaze. 🙂

Oh these scones! They look wonderful and not at all boring to me. What might seem so unspectacular to you might actually be spectacular to others! And it’s true: one can never fail with classics. They’re the ones we most often turn to, the ones that we love and build memories around.

Your hips could lie if you were flowy shirts and yoga pants like I do, teeheehee. It’s trickery for at least one day out. With that being said, in my opinion, the best dishes are the ones with no unnecessary fanfare, but instead, just a highlighting of all the ingredients, as they were meant to be. These scones seem like just that!

I LOVE your take on food. I think all too often in the food blogging world, the classics are thrown aside as irrelevant or boring, but it is NOT the case! The classics get me going, especially when we’re talking pumpkin scones. Such beautiful little numbers, these are.

Hooray for classics! To me, food blogs are our generation’s version of the recipe boxes that our mothers and grandmothers kept – only we get to share them with anyone who cares to look. (How cool is that?!) I imagine that those recipe boxes were rarely filled with complicated, fussy recipes, but with recipes that were staples, made again and again.

Your pumpkin scones look just wonderful, btw. Just the kind of thing that belongs in our modern day recipe boxes. xx

I am intrigued at the American idea of adding glaze (which we call icing) to scones! In New Zealand and Australia we make scones the same way but traditionally would never add glaze. We eat the split in half and spread with lashing of butter (well, maybe not everyone else uses quite as much as I do on their scones!) I also would eat them everyday, especially with the aforementioned butter, but sadly my hips remain possibly the most honest part of my being 😉

Stick to the classics and you’ll never have to look back on a photo of yourself with a mullet, puffed sleeves, and leg warmers. We could all learn a thing or two from you. When the result looks like these scones, you know there’s no reason to be any different.

TIP OF THE WEEK

To deseed pomegranates without a mess, place a halved and stretched pom into a ziplock bag. Close and smack the peel of the fruit with the back of a wooden spoon, releasing just enough seeds for your desired serving. Store in the fridge.